Several Swedish MPs have applied to the Nobel Peace Committee with
the proposal to give the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to famous Turkish
human rights defender Ragip Zarakolu.

As the Turkish Evrensel website informs, the Swedish MPs mentioned
in their proposal that Zarakolu published materials on the Armenian
Genocide and the Kurdish issue which are taboos in Turkey. He has
been sentenced for that publications several times.

One month ago Zarakolu has sent a letter to the Turkish parliament
calling them to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.

"Yes, Turkey must face its history. It is not only an obligation
towards the victims but also a duty for securing healthy way of
thinking for the society. The acknowledgement of the genocide will
not belittle Turkey but will strengthen it," Zarakolu wrote.

Ragip Zarakolu is a known human rights defender and publisher in
Turkey. Many materials on the Armenian Genocide have been published
in his Belge publishing house. On February in 2011 Zarakolu visited
Armenia.

ARMENIAN WRITERS INITIATE A MONTH OF SUPPORT TO RAGIP ZRAKOLU
Alisa Gevorgyan

"Radiolur"
07.02.2012 17:56

Upon the initiative of the "Dur" NGO, February has been declared a
month of support to Turkish intellectual, publisher and public figure
Ragıp Zarakolu. Within the framework of the initiative Armenian
writers will sign their books and donate them to Zarakolu.

This symbolic action aims to support the true friend of the Armenian
nation, who has been in jail since October 2011 on groundless
accusation of cooperating with the Kurdish Workers' Party.

In 1996 Zarakolu established the Begle publishing house in Istanbul
and published a number of books on the pressures against national
minorities, as well as the Armenian Genocide, as a result of which
he faced permanent persecution.

Zarakolu and his wife Ayse Nur were the first to try to destroy the
wall of denial in their country. Ayse was arrested many times for her
pro-Armenian activity. She died of a heavy illeness unable to stand
the maltreatment in jail.

Zarakolu was taken under custody on October 28, 2011 within the
framework of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) operation. His
unpublished book including secret documents on Germany's participation
in the Armenian Genocide was confiscated.

Despite the protests of the international community, the Turkish
writer remains in jail, and Armenian intellectuals have decided to
express support to him.

Under the initiative the Armenian writers will donate their books to
Zarakolu. The action, which kicked off at the Union of Writers today,
will continue in all bookstores of Yerevan.

According to Sargis Hatspanyan, a friend of Zarakolu family, Ragıp
Zarakolu was very excited to learn about the initiative from his
lawyer.

A Turkish court has decided to seek an Interpol Red Notice for Ragıp Zarakolu, a publisher, writer and one of the few Turkish intellectuals, who had recognized the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide, Ermenihaber reported, citing local sources.

The decision for an Interpol Red Notice and extradition to Turkey on terrorism charges was made by a high criminal court in İstanbul six years after Zarakolu’s release from prison, the source said.

As noted, in 2011, a case was launched against the publisher on charges of aiding and abetting a terrorist organization due to a speech he made at the Politics Academy of the now-defunct pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). He was arrested in October 2011 and released pending trial in April 2012.

Zarakolu, who has been living in Switzerland since 2013, called Turkey’s arrest warrant “harassment.” “Apparently, some were disturbed as I have continued to advocate human rights, minority rights, and the freedom of speech, supported peace, and expressed my opinions,” Ahvalnews quoted Zarakolu as saying.

To add, Zarakolu is a well-known political activist who has been fighting for freedom of _expression_ in Turkey for over 30 years, publishing books on issues such as minority and human rights. In 2011, Zarakolu was awarded with Hakob Meghapart medal by the State Library of Armenia for his professional activity and the books and materials donated to the Library.